“From day one, our guys said, ‘State title or bust.’ We’re almost there,” Ritter coach Dave Scott said. “They’ve worked so hard, we have great senior leadership and to see a guy put up a performance on the mound like today, it’s incredible.”

That guy, Ritter’s Blake Malatestinic, pitched at a relentless pace against a Providence team with three NCAA Division I commits. He scattered five hits and struck out six in a complete game gem.

“He got three wins in sectionals last year, and we had coaches coming up saying, ‘We need to give film of this kid to every high school pitcher,’” Scott said. “Go fast, that’s the way it should be. We don’t want three-hour games. Go get ‘em.”

Three of Ritter’s runs came on two Providence errors and a passed ball.

“We made the mistakes. We dug ourselves a hole, and it changed the whole complexion of the game,” Providence coach Scott Hornung said.

Ritter (27-4) got off to a quick start offensively, as a Brian Bacon RBI and dual Providence errors plated three runs in the first inning.

After Ritter’s Kyle Price added an RBI in the second, Providence (27-5) got its first hit and run in the fourth, but a passed ball scored the Raiders’ Henry Woodcock in the bottom half of the inning.

Malatestinic and the Ritter defense took it from there, blanking Providence over the final four frames.

“The one thing he was, that we thought he’d be, is he’s a competitor,” Hornung said the Ritter ace. “I didn’t think his fastball was the difference, I felt his ability to throw his off-speed pitch was.”

Now, Ritter hopes to write another chapter of history next week at Victory Field.

“We’re excited, but we still have our eyes on the prize,” Scott said. “These guys, they’re all in. It’s a beautiful thing to have.”